32833Alice ___
Key Facts
Snapshot:lived in late 15th- and early 16th-century Kent, England
Parents:unknown
Born:unknown
Died:between 21 February 1526/7 and 3 June 1527
Old Romney, Kent, England
Buried:St. Clement's Church, Old Romney, Kent, England
Church's coordinates: N50.9902 E0.8982

Note: Some of the research presented here is based on: John Frederick Dorman, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia (Epes-Eppes-Epps), Volume I (Society of the Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, 1992), pages 10-11 (“K11 JOHNC EPES [ca. 1480-1527]”).

32833Alice ___ married 32832John Epse,1 although the details of the marriage (e.g., when and where) are unknown.

She lived in Old Romney, Kent, England and is buried there in St. Clement's Church.2 The church, shown in the photo below,3 is at coordinates N50.9902 E0.8982. See the first several pages of this document for more information on the church's history.


St. Clement's Church, Old Romney, Kent, England, photographed 13 April 2009.3

32833Alice's will is dated 21 February 1526/7 and was proved 3 June 1527. The first few lines of the register copy are below, followed by a transcription of the will. You can see the full register copy here: 1, 2.2


The first few lines of 32833Alice's will (register copy).2

In dei nom Amen on the xxj[?] day of ffebruary
In the yer of our lord god m |ↄ + xxvi I Alice Epps beyng
yn good mynde made my testament yn this man' and forme
ffirst I bequeathe my soule to god to our lady and to all the
holy company of hevyn my body to be buried yn the churche
of Saynt Clement at old Romeney
before our lady
ffirst I bequeathe to the high ault [altar] for my tithes negli-
gently forgotyn xij d Item to the Rode light to our lady
to Saynte Kateryne to Saynte Margarete to ___ of the ___
viij d Item to the expansion[?] on the churche xij d Item
to the byeng [buying] of the new crosse xij d Item to the ___
and the Roode xij d Item at my forthe beyng[?] ___
therof x s to preeste[?] and Clarke[?] and iij s iiij d to pooer
people Item at the month _ day xx s therof to preeste
Clarke xiij s iiij d and to pooer people vj s viij d Item
at my then[?] ___ xx s to preeste and Clark ___
and to pooer people vj[?] s viij d Item ___ ___ to the
spare[?] of my ___ xiij s iiij d Item I bequeathe to Johane
my daughter
my part of the household and x kine
x vealves Item I will Willm Marshe shalhave the
rule of her to the tyme of her mariage And at the
age of xviij then[?] [or years?] the said Johane shall receive the
catall [cattle] and at xij years age she shall receyve the
pfett [profit] of the said catall and the said Willm Marshe
shalhave for his labor my oxen[?] Item to Thomas
Tyseherste wiffe xx [text obsured] Item to my sister of lydd xij s
iiij d Item to my other sist' xiij s iij d Item to John
Tyseherst my other godson vj s viij d Item to my sister of
Lydde my best kertyll [kirtle] Item to my mother Epse my best
gowne Item to my sister Margarete my kyrtell next
the best Item to Johanne Epse my goddaughter my
redde kertyll ___ the ___ upper body / And to
Tyseherste wyfe my blacke kyrtell/ Item to Lawrence
Arnards wife ij peticots [petticoats] that be on my body nowe
Item to Johanne shever[?] my best peticote Item to [16416]Alyn
my son
ij calvys [calves] And to the Elder John ij Calves/ And
to Thomas a calfe And to eyther of my godchildren
iiij d The residue of my goods my detts ⁊ bequests

___ I will that Willm my sonne shalhave
The ___ ___ [page is scratched] I make hym my Executor
to pay my detts and my bequests/ and if it fortune
that Johane my daughter decease[?] ___ the age
of xvj years then I will that John Epse my
Elder son
shalhave S [half] of the said x kyne to her
before bequeathed and the other S kyne to be
equally devyded amonge my other children
Witnesss Sir Robert Brache Jurate and Edward
Clarke

Probatū fuit suprascriptum testamentum iij die Junii
anno dom millesimo quingen[tesimo] xxvij juramento in Robert
Brache et Edward Clarke [...]

Sources Cited:

1: 32832John's will. UK National Archives record CCA-DCb/PRC/32/14/187 (Canterbury Cathedral Archives / Diocese of Canterbury / Consistory Court Wills [Registers]). FamilySearch (FHL microfilm 188839, images 221, 223, 224, and 225). Image 222 is merely a duplicate of 221. FamilySearch restricts access to these images, so see copies here: 221, 223, 224, 225. The will is indexed at <http://wills.canterbury-cathedral.org/>.

2: 32833Alice's will. UK National Archives record CCA-DCb/PRC/17/17/260a (Canterbury Cathedral Archives / Diocese of Canterbury / Archdeaconry Court Wills [Registers]). FamilySearch (FHL microfilm 188928, images 276 and 277). FamilySearch restricts access to these images, so see copies here: 276, 277.

3: Chris Whippet, "St Clement's, Old Romney" (photographed 22 July 2009). Online image. Wikimedia, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Clement%27s,_Old_Romney_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1420208.jpg>, accessed 25 November 2014. Mr. Whippet has licensed this image under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.